Save Our Farmland

Honolulu League is against urbanizing 1,554 acres of prime agricultural land in Ewa to create a new community, known as the Ho'opili project, for nearly 11,750 homes. The State Land Use Commission temporarily rejected D.R. Horton-Schuler Division’s request to rezone from agricultural to urban because of deficiencies in their application.

The real reason behind this rezoning request is not housing, but to allow the City to begin to build the rail in December through this property. The City can't claim the construction of an elevated rail line with stations is compatible with agriculture use. In fact, there are already 30,000 homes zoned and ready for construction in the Ewa Plain, so additional housing is not a high priority for Ewa.

This land is considered the best agricultural land on Oahu and it represents 14 percent of available farmland on the island. This is a case of sustainability for us and our children if there is a food stoppage from the Mainland because of shipping or dock strikes. Also, the price of imported food can be higher than local foods when shippers can require a surcharge to their regular carrying fees to cover increased fuel costs. We import about 70 to 80 percent of our food.

The State Department of Agriculture, State Department of Transportation and State Office of Planning spoke against this rezoning.

We need to maintain valuable agriculture lands to protect ourselves from various emergencies